Euphemia of Hungary was a daughter of King

Béla I of Hungary Béla I the Boxer or the Wisent ( hu, I. Bajnok or Bölény Béla, sk, Belo I.; – 11 September 1063) was King of Hungary from 1060 until his death. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. Béla's baptismal name was A ...

and his wife, Richesa (or Adelaide) of Poland (1050s – 11 April 1111). She was the wife of Duke

Otto I of Olomouc Otto I (1045 – 9 June 1087), known as Otto the Fair ( cs, Ota Sličný), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Prince of Olomouc in Moravia from 1061 until his death. He was the youngest son of the Bohemian duke Bretislav I and his wife J ...

, the second son the Duke of Bohemia

Bretislav I Bretislav I ( cs, Břetislav I.; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubin ...

. They were married before 1073. Some researchers believe that Euphemia was the daughter of Bela's older brother

Andrew I of Hungary Andrew I the White or the Catholic ( hu, I. Fehér or ; 1015 – before 6 December 1060) was King of Hungary from 1046 to 1060. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. After spending fifteen years in exile, he ascended ...

and his wife Anastasia of Kiev, with the alternative name Adelhaid been proposed, due to minimal sources on her birth. Though the theory supported by most scholars and historians is that Euphemia was born as a result of a marriage between King Bela I and an unknown Piast Princess. Together they have four children: * Svatopluk, Duke of Bohemia (21 September 1109) *

Otto II the Black Otto II the Black ( cs, Ota II. Černý; – 18 February 1126), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, ruled as a Moravian prince in Olomouc from 1107 and in Brno from 1123 until his death. Life He was a younger son of Prince Otto I of Olomouc and ...

(18 February 1126) * Bretislav * Boleslava Their youngest two children disappeared from written records and thus, are assumed to have died at a young age.

Civil War

After her husband's death in 1087,

Vratislaus II of Bohemia Vratislaus II (or Wratislaus II) ( cs, Vratislav II.) (c. 1032 – 14 January 1092), the son of Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia as of 15 June 1085, his royal title granted as a lifetime honorific from Holy ...

, who had been crowned King of Bohemia, gave the Principality of

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

to his own son, Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia, and banished Euphemia and her children. Instead of returning to Hungary, Euphemia stayed with her sons and took refuge under her husband's elder brother,

Conrad I, Duke of Bohemia Conrad I of Brno (; died 6 September 1092) was the duke of Bohemia for eight months in 1092. Life He was the brother and successor of Vratislaus II (died 14 January 1092) as the third son of Bretislaus I and Judith of Schweinfurt. He did no ...

. Conrad only ruled for eight months before his death, after which the Dukedom was awarded to the late king's son,

Bretislav II Bretislaus II (; c. 1060 – 22 December 1100) was the duke of Bohemia from 14 September 1092 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Vratislaus II and Adelaide, daughter of Andrew I of Hungary. He was a major enemy of paganism. Life ...

according

Agnatic seniority Agnatic seniority is a patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children (the next generation) succeed only after the males ...

. Nevertheless, the enmity with the Moravian branch of the Přemyslids increased, more so when Duke Bretislav II appointed his half-brother Bořivoj II ruler of the Moravian lands and made an application to

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the so ...

to acknowledge Bořivoj's succession as Bohemian duke, thus starting a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

with the sons of Conrad, Ulrich and

Luitpold of Znojmo Luitpold of Znojmo (, , la, Lutoldus Znoyemsis; died 15 MarchThe day of deth: Z ČECHORODU, PEŠINA; ''Mars Moravicus III.3'', p. 286. and NOVOTNÝ, V.; ''České dějiny I.2'', pp. 513–515 (+ footnote 15) 1112), a member of the Přemyslid dyn ...

. In 1092 peace was made. After this peace, Euphemia and her children were able to return to Olomouc where the boys received their inheritance during which Euphemia ruled as regent until 1095. In 1099, Borivoj prevailed when the Emperor had an Imperial charter written out, and after the death of Bretislav II in 1100, Bořivoj took power. Though, when the Emperor was deposed by his own son Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, her eldest son, Svatopluk, took the opportunity march against Borivoj and claim the Dukedom of Bohemia which he was able to maintain due to his good relationship with Henry V. Not much else is known about Euphemia during this period. She died in 1111, and was buried next to her husband in the Hradisko Monastery which they founded.

References

House of Árpád 11th-century Hungarian people Daughters of kings {{Hungary-hist-stub